Short answer
For boys, circumcision is a stressed sunnah (sunnah mu'akkadah) in the Hanafi school and one of the signs of Islam, so it should not be left without a real excuse. The Shafi'i and Hanbali schools hold it is wajib (obligatory). There is no fixed age; most families do it in infancy.
Male circumcision is sunnah mu'akkadah and a sign (shi'ar) of Islam. There is no fixed age in the school; it should be done before puberty, and early childhood is easiest. A person's Islam and prayers are valid without it.
Other madhhabs
- Shafi'i
- Wajib (obligatory) for males, and in the classical texts for females too.
- Hanbali
- Wajib for males.
Explanation
The Prophet ﷺ listed circumcision first among the five acts of fitrah (natural disposition), with removing pubic hair, plucking the armpits, trimming nails and the moustache. He also said that Ibrahim circumcised himself at the age of eighty, and the Quran tells us to follow the way of Ibrahim. The Hanafi school counts it as a stressed sunnah and a public sign of Islam, so a whole community that abandoned it would be blameworthy.
What age? Imam Abu Hanifa set no age. Some Hanafi scholars said between seven and twelve, and others from the seventh day onward, whenever the child can bear it. Today most families do it in the first weeks or months, when healing is quick, through a qualified doctor.
Adult converts: circumcision is not a condition for becoming Muslim. A convert who can bear it safely should do it. If a doctor advises it would cause real harm, for example in old age or illness, it may be left. Prayers and fasting are valid either way. See the new Muslim guide.
Who arranges it: it is the father's duty to arrange for his son, as part of raising him. For girls, the question is different; see female circumcision.
The evidence
Quran, Surah An-Nahl 16:123
ثُمَّ أَوْحَيْنَآ إِلَيْكَ أَنِ ٱتَّبِعْ مِلَّةَ إِبْرَٰهِيمَ حَنِيفًۭا ۖ وَمَا كَانَ مِنَ ٱلْمُشْرِكِينَ ﴿١٢٣﴾
Then We revealed to you, [O Muhammad], to follow the religion of Abraham, inclining toward truth; and he was not of those who associate with Allah.
Circumcision is part of the way of Ibrahim that Muslims follow.
Sahih al-Bukhari 5891
Sahih... الفطرة خمس الختان والاستحداد ...
"Five things are part of the fitrah: circumcision, shaving the pubic hair..."
Circumcision is a practice of the natural way.
Sahih al-Bukhari 3356
Sahih... اختتن إبراهيم عليه السلام وهو ابن ثمانين سنة ...
"Ibrahim, peace be upon him, circumcised himself when he was eighty years old."
Shows its roots in the way of Ibrahim, and that it can be done in adulthood.
Where the ruling is recorded
- al-Fatawa al-Hindiyya, Kitab al-Karahiyya, chapter on circumcision. Circumcision as a sunnah and sign of Islam, and the question of age.
- al-Majmu' (Nawawi), Kitab al-Taharah, discussion of the sunnahs of fitrah and circumcision. The Shafi'i view that it is obligatory.
- al-Mughni (Ibn Qudama), Kitab al-Taharah, section on the sunnahs of fitrah. The Hanbali view.
This answer is pending review by the scholars on our team. Quran translation by Sahih International. Hadith Arabic from the standard editions of the six books and the Muwatta, with gradings as recorded there; the English is our own rendering. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.